History of Wake Forest College, Volume IV (1943-1967)
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The Dawn of a New Day 35 Carolina State. Traditionally, Winston-Salem sports fans favored Carolina because many were alumni. They would not soon give up that loyalty; but 90 percent of the time they would also root for Wake Forest. In early 1946, however, the move that would bring big-time collegiate activities to Winston-Salem was still a decade away The first comment from the Biblical Recorder on the Reynolds offer appeared in its April 3 issue, ten days after the proposal was made public; it was pointedly cautious. "Until there has been time to get all the major facts in mind and opportunity found for studying carefully the whole matter, we feel that it will be well for all of us to maintain an open mind on the subject and withhold final judgement." By the following week the editor had done some hard thinking, and although not yet ready to commit himself, he conceded that something awesomely portentous had crossed Wake Forest's path. He wrote: "We read in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.' In the offer made by the Smith Reynolds Foundation it seems that Wake Forest College faces such a tide, for the original gift is large and generous and the promise of ‘fortune' in the future is great." He acknowledged the pros and cons and warned that "there is a danger, of course, that Wake Forest may lose its soul as a denomi- national and Christian institution if it accepts such large gifts from outside sources; but if we do accept it, we hope and pray that to us grace and wisdom may be given to administer the immense trust according to the will of God and in the interest of the kingdom of God." Realizing the tendency of Baptists to bicker if there is something to bicker over, he pleaded, "Instead of hot-headed and partisan debate on the matter, let us have real group thinking and sharing on the part of all North Carolina Baptists." On April 11 the Board of Trustees, the convention's General Board, and its Council on Christian Education met separately on the Wake Forest campus. Each group voted unanimously to accept the Reynolds offer and to make a recommendation to that effect to the convention. At the trustee meeting Judge Oates asked Bursar Earnshaw, who was secretary of the board, to call the roll so that each member could stand and record his vote by voice. There was an unbroken